Designing a modern addition on our home had been a long time dream for my wife and I. We were lucky enough to have a very talented friend, an architect, who sat down with us and listened to our needs and helped us to create a plan. There were a couple of things that we wanted to be able to incorporate into the design. First, we didn’t want a big house, 1,200 square feet was plenty for us and our dog, but we didn’t want it to feel small. To help increase the perceived space we wanted to have a long line of sight. Having that line of sight makes a house feel big even if it isn’t. Second we wanted lots of built in storage. We had spent too many years in small apartments with no storage and had learned just how valuable storage can be. Lastly we wanted it to have a strong connection to the outdoors. The final design incorporated all of these features, a long hall with built in storage gives line of sight and a place for everything, while the courtyard between the kitchen and master bedroom gives the outdoor connection. Best of all it could be built for around $125 a square foot. In return for designing a beautiful home for us, I built a simple modern birch kitchen for my friend, the architect, for the cost of material. It was a win win situation for everyone.

Lessons learned:

1. When it comes to designing a space find someone who is not only extremely talented, but also willing to listen to your needs.

2. Trade skills. Everyone is good at something. Good old fashioned bartering and trading goes a long way in the modern world.

I cover some of our design inspirations in this post.

More details on the kitchen I built here.